Reflections

These readings enabled me to not only learn new things, but connect this new information to my own life experiences. The Colten reading touched on the BP Oil Spill, which I vividly remember, yet, it delved into the history of the petrochemical industry, and its presence in Louisiana, as well. Prior to this reading, I knew very little about the petrochemical industry, yet the very prominent course theme of the detriment of a global prioritization of profit over preserving land and people who inhabit it was blatant. The Rapson, Williams, and Davies articles carried this theme further with an in depth discussion of the decline of human health and life in relation to environmental hazards,  injustices, etc.

Recently, for another class, I travelled to Whitney Plantation, which enabled me to understand the Rapson and Williams articles to a higher degree than I would have if I had not attended a plantation. The white-washing, and tethered racism and ethnocentrism, was something I had learned about before, but the Rapson article enabled me to learn about before. Although the Davies article touched upon this, the Davies article prompted me to gain a holistic understanding  of racism as it relates to the environment: “racism and destructive environmental policies have often been reciprocally constituted.”

Lastly, the Williams article discussed the ways in which a decline of human health and life can tethered to the environment. For instance, in instances of pervasive pollution. Davies stated “toxic substances incrementally deposit damage in human bodies - ubiquitous yet unrecognized.” This statement reminded me of when I first learned about Cancer Alley in New Orleans, and wondered how things of this nature could withstand time.